DuPage deputy honored for thwarting heroin overdose

The sheriff's deputy credited for DuPage County's first live-saving use of Narcan has been honored by the DuPage County Sheriff's Office.

Answering a sick person call March 22, Tim Jasper administered Narcan, the nonaddictive drug that can reverse a potentially fatal heroin overdose, reviving a 32-year-old woman in unincorporated DuPage County near Villa Park.

The fifth-year deputy received a Lifesaving Award and Lifesaving pin for his actions.

“If [Jasper] was not carrying this lifesaving drug, another life could have possibly been lost to this epidemic” Sheriff John Zaruba said in a news release.

That was the first of two lives saved from heroin overdose in a five-day span thanks to the DuPage Narcan Program, according to the DuPage County Health Department.

"This is the first case of DNP-issued Narcan saving a life, and we expect that trend to continue," health department Executive Director Karen Ayala said in a news release.

On March 26, the program notched its second save. Hanover Park police responded to a call of a sick person about 9 p.m. and reversed the overdose of a 29-year-old man.

"The fact that our department just completed the DNP training a week ago and already put this life-saving training to use to save a life is amazing," Hanover Park Police Chief David Webb said in a release.

The DuPage Narcan Program is a response to the rising number of DuPage County heroin-related deaths in recent years, including 46 in 2013.

Training began in November to teach DuPage County law enforcement personnel how to identify symptoms of an overdose and how to administer Narcan. More than 1,200 officers in DuPage County are expected to be equipped with Narcan by May.

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